IZMIR, Turkey — In the aftermath of Iran’s drone and missile attacks on its neighbors Turkish firms are receiving increased interest from Gulf states in their short-range air defenses and counter-drone technologies, officials from two companies told Breaking Defense.
Murat Kurtulus, deputy general manager of missile production giant Roketsan, said that his company received requests from Gulf states to procure two systems in particular, the firm’s Cirit missiles and Alka directed energy weapon system.
“Yes, we have some requests from the governments after recent developments,” Kurtulus said. He noted that both Cirit, unveiled at the Saha defense expo in May, and Alka are relatively new products, with Alka in particular “very effective” for protecting critical infrastructure like the kind of facilities that have been targeted by Iranian systems.
Cirit is a light-weight, laser guided counter-UAS missile, with a 5 km (3 mile) range, which the company says is a cost-effective alternative to traditional air defense systems. The missile can be launched from mobile land-based vehicles. Alka is a directed energy weapon system that uses electromagnetic and laser technology at a very close range.
